Terms & Definitions Flashcards
Proteins:
Organic molecules composed of strings of carefully folded amino-acids.
Biology:
The study of life and living organisms.
Carbohydrates:
Simple sugars, such as glucose and fructose.
Lipids:
Hydrophobic organic compounds, many of which include fatty acids as a primary component.
Nucleic Acids:
Organic molecules composed of a nucleotide base attached to a sugar and phosphate backbone. (DNA/RNA)
Nucleus:
A distinct structure within the cell that contains the cell’s DNA.
Prokaryotes:
Organisms whose cells lack a nucleus and organelles, including bacteria and archaea.
Eukaryotes:
Organisms whose cells have a nucleus and organelles including; protists, animals, plants, and fungi.
Cytoplasm:
The portion of the cell outside the nucleus.
Chloroplasts:
Capture energy from sunlight in order to build organic molecules.
Active Transport:
Is used to move many organic molecules, including most proteins, into cells.
Mitosis:
A form of cell division in which one parent cell divides into two daughter cells, each of which contains the same genetic information as the parent cell.
Enzymes:
Binds the reactants of a reaction -the enzyme’s substrate- at its active site and then releases the products of the reaction. (Large complex proteins)
Chlorophyll:
A pigment, meaning it is a molecule that absorbs light, and it is also what gives plants their green color.
Genome:
A complete set of an organism’s genetic material.
Motor Neuron:
A type of neuron that signals muscles to relax or contract.
Strata:
Layers of sedimentary rock.
Radioactivity:
The process by which an unstable nuclei breaks down and emits radiation.
Conservation of Energy and Machines:
The work output of any machine cannot exceed the work input. In an ideal machine, where no energy is transformed into heat;
Work Input = Work Output and (Fd) Input = (Fd) Output
Transmutation:
A change in the identity of a nucleus as a result of a change in the number of its protons.
Population:
A group of organisms of the same species populating a given area.
Newton’s FIRST Law of Motion:
The scientific law that states that an object at rest will stay at rest and an object in motion will stay in motion with a constant speed and direction unless acted on by a force.
Resultant:
The sum of two or more vectors.
Interaction:
A mutual action between objects where each object exerts an equal and opposite force on the other.
Force Pair:
The action and reaction pair of forces that occur in an interaction.
Newton’s THIRD Law of Motion:
For every action there is an opposite but equal reaction.
Newton’s SECOND Law of Motion:
The acceleration of an object is directly proportional to the net force acting on the object, is in the direction of the net force, and is inversely proportional to the mass of the object.
Terminal Speed:
The speed at which the acceleration of a falling object terminates because air resistance balances its weight.
Vector Components:
Parts into which a vector can be separated and that act in different directions from the vector.
Free Fall:
Motion under the influence of gravity pull only.
Force Vector:
An arrow drawn to scale so that its length represent the magnitude of a force and its direction of the force.
Technology:
The means of solving practical problems by applying the findings of science.
Science:
The collective findings of humans about nature, and a process of gathering and organizing knowledge about nature.
Fact:
A phenomenon about which competent observes can agree.
Hypothesis:
An educated guess or reasonable explanation.
Pseudoscience:
A theory or practice that is considered to be without scientific foundations but purports to use methods of science.
Theory:
A synthesis of a large body of information that encompasses well tested hypotheses about certain aspects of the natural world.
Scientific Method:
An orderly method for gaining, organizing, and applying new knowledge.
Law:
A general hypothesis or statement about the relationship of natural quantities that has been tested over and over again and has not been contradicted. AKA: a principle.
Control:
A test that excludes the variable being investigated in a scientific experiment.
Velocity:
The speed and direction of a moving object.
Kilogram:
A unit of mass, equals the mass of 1L (liter) of water @4C.
Force:
Simply stated a push or pull.
Weight:
The force of gravity on an object.
Acceleration:
The rate at which velocity changes with time. (m/s2)
Mass:
The quantity of matter in an object.
Vector Quantity:
Quantity having both magnitude and direction.
NEWTON:
Scientific unit of force.
Support Force:
The force that supports an object against gravity. AKA: normal force.
Net Force:
The combination of all forces acting on an object.
Friction:
The force that opposes the motion of one surface as it moves across another surface.
Speed:
Distance traveled per time.
Inertia:
The property of things to resist changes in motion.
Equilibrium Rule:
The vector sum of forces acting on a non-accelerating object equals zero. SF=0
Air Resistance:
The force of friction acting on an object due to its motion through air.
Potential Energy:
Stored energy.
Efficiency:
The percentage of the work put into a machine that is converted into useful work output.
Conservation of Energy and Machines:
The work output of any machine cannot exceed the work input.
Conservation of Momentum:
In the absence of an outside force, the momentum of a system will remain unchanged.
Energy:
The property of a system that enables it to do the work.
Power:
The time rate of work or rate of energy expended. P=Work/Time
Kinetic Energy:
Energy of motion. K=mv2
Joule:
The SI unit of energy and work.
Elastic Collision:
Collision in which colliding objects rebound without lasting deformation or heat generated.
Work-Energy Theorem:
The work done on an object equals the change in kinetic energy of the object.
Conservation of Energy:
The principle that energy can neither be created nor destroyed.
Momentum:
The product of an object’s mass and velocity.
Impulse:
The product of the force acting on an object and the time during which it acts.
Relationship of Impulse and Momentum:
Impulse is equal to the change in the momentum of the object that the impulse acts upon.
Inelastic Collision:
A collision in which the colliding objects become distorted, generate heat, and possibly stick together.
Work:
The product of the force and the distance through which the force moves. W=Fd
Law of Universal Gravitation:
Everybody in the universe attracts every other body with a mutually attracting force.
Inverse Square Law:
Law relating to the intensity of an effect to the inverse square of the distance from the cause.
Centripetal Force:
Any force that is directed at right angles to the path of a moving object that tends to produce circular motion.
Escape Speed:
The minimum speed necessary for an object to escape permanently from a gravitational field that holds it.
Parabola:
The curved path followed by a projectile near the Earth under the influence of gravity only.
Projectile:
Any object that moves through the air or through the space under the influence of gravity.
Ellipse:
The oval path followed by a satellite.
Tangential Velocity:
Velocity that is parallel (tangent) to a curved path.
